Lower Mississippi

Coast Guard responds to report of crude oil in Mississippi River.
A unified command has been established in response to a report of crude oil in the lower Mississippi River near mile marker 434 in Vicksburg, Miss., Sunday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River received notification at 1:30 a.m., reporting that two tank barges, towed by the tug Nature's Way Endeavor, allided with the Vicksburg Railroad river bridge. Both of the tank barges were loaded with crude oil; both of the barges were damaged, and one has released oil into lower Mississippi River.
The actual amount of product released into the lower Mississippi River has not yet been determined.
Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Vicksburg has dispatched a pollution response team to assess the size of the spill and oversee cleanup operations. The source has been contained and tank levels are being monitored for further leakage. The actual amount of the spill has not yet been determined, but the leaking tank contained approximately 80,000 gallons of light crude oil.
The Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Capt. William Drelling, commander of Sector Lower Mississippi River, has closed a section of the lower Mississippi River to all traffic from mile marker 425 to mile marker 441 near Vicksburg.
The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund has been opened. No injuries were reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Press Release stating that on February 10, a towboat pushing seven barges collided with a freighter on the lower Mississippi River near Donaldsonville, Louisiana. The towboat and one barge sank. The crewmembers were rescued. The freighter incurred minor damage. Light pollution has been observed. The incident is under investigation.
Source: HK Law

The Federal Maritime Commission, or FMC, is currently making a formal investigation into exclusive tug franchise arrangements in ports in Florida and the lower Mississippi River area. The issue is whether these licenses, with which marine terminal operators grant exclusive towing licenses to certain tug companies, are unreasonably anticompetitive and violate the Shipping Act of 1984.
The FMC initially began an inquiry into supposed exclusive franchise agreements involving some tug operators

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) released a Settlement Agreement it has entered into with one of the stevedoring companies that was allegedly involved in an improper exclusive tug franchise on the Lower Mississippi River. While not admitting that it violated the Shipping Act of 1984, the stevedore agrees to be cease and desist or modify its exclusive tug practices to the same extent and manner as may be required of the other respondents

The Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Advisory Committee (LMRWSAC), sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, will meet in New Orleans on November 16. Topics on the agenda include navigational safety at the Mississippi River mouth and approaches and an update on local port harbor safety committees. (HK Law)

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued an Order denying the request of a marine terminal operator on the lower Mississippi River to require various carriers to furnish copies of charter parties and fixture documentation with respect to the on-going proceeding regarding exclusive tug franchises. Docket No. 01-06
Source: HK Law

According to a report from The Times-Picayune, on June 15, five tugboats freed a tanker carrying oil that had run aground Monday in the lower Mississippi River near Pilottown. The vessel ran aground just above Cubit's Gap, about 10 miles below Venice. It had a 42-foot draft, while restrictions in that area have been set at 43 feet since last week.
Source: The Times-Picayune

Officials with the World Trade Center Mississippi River Alliance (WTC MSRA) and the Big River Coalition (BRC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining a cooperative effort to preserve and promote economic growth on the Mississippi River and Tributaries (MRT). The organizations will work together in support of increasing the draft in the Lower Mississippi River deep-draft channel to 50 feet to equal the maximum draft to be available when the new Panama Canal locks open in 2015

The Coast Guard, partnered with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as many of the key port players, exercised risk management strategies aimed at protecting the city and the Port of Memphis. The exercise was led by the DHS Protective Security Advisor for the Memphis District, Mr. Greg Innis.
The exercise participants included representatives from Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Office of Homeland Security

Associated Terminals recently expanded its stevedoring and material handling operations on the lower Mississippi River with its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Gulf Coast Dockside, Inc., along with a substantial interest in Bulk Material Transfer, Inc.
Gulf Coast Dockside is a stevedoring company whose primary operations are located in Chalmette, LA, near milepost 90.5 of the lower Mississippi River

American Eagle is Second Riverboat for American Cruise Lines in New Orleans
Guilford, CT-based American Cruise Lines will introduce its second riverboat to be home-ported in New Orleans. The two new riverboats are the first new ships built specially for the Mississippi River in 20 years

718-ton absorption tower discharged at Louisiana Ave. wharf
Fracht USA/Germany, a global freight forwarder, completed one of the heaviest project cargo lifts in the Port of New Orleans’ history January 12, discharging a 718-ton, 164-foot-long absorption tower from ship-to-barge.

The Coast Guard, state and local agencies responded to a report of a missing duck hunter in the vicinity of South Pass on the lower Mississippi River, Thursday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report of the missing hunter and directed the launch of a Coast

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has granted $450,000 to AEP River Operations of St. Louis, Missouri, to modify the Motor Vessel (M/V) Christopher Parsonage into a fuel-efficient hybrid vessel that conserves fuel and reduces emissions.

Tenaska Bayou LNG expected to meet growing marine, transportation and oil and gas exploration and production demand on the Gulf Coast
Tenaska NG Fuels, LLC and Waller Marine, Inc. today announced that they have agreed to develop, construct

The U.S. Coast Guard temporarily closed the Mississippi River from mile marker 205 to 215 near Plaquemine Point due to an unknown white haze, Friday morning
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Baton Rouge received notifications about the haze at 9 a.m.

Coast Guard Captain of the Port, New Orleans, informs that the Mississippi River has been re-opened to all traffic transiting around the International Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT) between mile marker 96 and mile marker 98.
The disabled vessel, Flag Gangos, is no longer impeding traffic

The U.S. Coast Guard said it restricted traffic to one way in the vicinity of the International Matex Tank Terminals near Gretna, Louisiana, on the lower Mississippi River early Wednesday following a multi-vessel collision.
A Maltese-flagged vessel, Flag Gangos, lost control near mile marker 97

The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port New Orleans, under the authority of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, will establish a safety zone on the Lower Mississippi River, Above Head of Passes, from MM 215.0 to MM 217.0, in the vicinity of the L'Auberge Casino, Baton Rouge, LA

The Coast Guard, along with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Mississippi County, Ark. Sheriff's Department, are searching for two people in the water near a sunken barge in Hickman Landing Wednesday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River received a report at

On Wednesday, March 12, an eight-person delegation of transportation and economic development officials from Lithuania visited the Port of New Orleans to sign a memorandum of understanding to exchange market and operational information. The agreement hopes to grow trade and investment between the

Effective at 1:30 p.m. today, the U.S. Coast Guard advised that the Mississippi River is now open to all traffic. The Coast Guard will require vessels to transit at a “Slow Bell” or slow speed from Mile 150 to Mile 155.
A 65-mile (105-km) stretch of the lower Mississippi River

By Mary Wisniewski, Reuters
A 65-mile (105-km) stretch of the lower Mississippi River, including the Port of New Orleans, remained closed on Sunday night while crews cleaned up oil that spilled when a barge was hit by another vessel, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Sector New Orleans is responding to a report of a collision between two vessels near mile marker 154 on the lower Mississippi River.
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders say they received a report from the National Response Center that a vessel had collided with a